Blood and Beli
by Do Wop
Summary: The Straw Hat Pirates land on an island, only to find themselves beset by a mysterious group of villains after their bounties. Set postAlabasta, preJaya.
1. Chapter 1

The sound of eating could be heard for miles around.

Every head in the small restaurant was turned to watch, first in curiosity, then in fascination, and finally in mounting horror as the Straw Hat Pirates attacked the mountain of food set in front of them. Their appetites seemed insatiable as the stack of dirty dishes grew higher and the tableful of food grew smaller. And still they were shouting for more. From the kitchen, one could hear the chef protesting that he had no more food to cook.

Thanks to Marine pursuit and a navigational foulup+, it had been weeks since they had made landfall, and with Luffy's voracious appetite, the Merry's meagre supplies had long since been depleted. The last week of their voyage had been made on little-to-no food, and when they pulled into port all seven of them staggered off the ship and into the nearest restaurant.

It was a measure of how hungry they were that Sanji, who would normally critique and bemoan the food before finally commandeering the kitchen to produce his own culinary masterpiece, was tucking in with as much enthusiasm as Chopper and Zoro. Even aloof, dignified Robin was chewing vigorously on a hunk of tough meat. Of course, nobody could match Luffy's love for food, and he was responsible for at least half of the empty plates. They had already collected two piles of plates that extended from the tabletop to the ceiling, and were working on a third.

Gradually, they began to slow down as their stomachs caught up with their mouths. The clatter of knives and forks quieted from a deafening din to a low clatter. One by one, each of the Straw Hats leaned back with a contented sigh, rubbing their full bellies. Except for Luffy, but he had to stop eating after Nami clapped a hand over his mouth to keep him from calling for more food.

"You guys sure eat a lot of food!" the waitress said as she began taking the enormous pile of dishes away. Sanji, immediately enamoured, leapt to his feet with hearts in his eyes and offered to take care of it for her. Nami swatted him on the back of the head, and he sat back down.

"Well, we did just go a week without food," Nami said as she handed the waitress her plate. "And the food bill's always huge with these idiots."

"Speaking of the bill," the waitress said cheerfully as she pulled a long piece of paper out of her pocket, "Who's picking it up?"

Nami looked around at the rest of the table. She could probably get Sanji to pay it...except that he didn't have any money. Actually, she was the only one at the table who _did_ have money. The rest of them were buffoons who had already squandered their money on a series of bad investments('bad investments' here meaning 'card games with a certain orange-haired thief'). Sighing the deep sigh of the long-suffering, Nami extended a hand and took the bill.

When she saw the total, she had a series of small heart attacks.

"Luffy!" She yelled, grabbing the captain by his vest collar, "How could you possibly order this much food? Don't you have any idea how much this costs?"

"But Nami, I was hungry!" Luffy protested as Nami began to shake him back and forth violently.

"I don't care!" Nami shrieked. The way she was shaking Luffy now would give a normal person whiplash. "How do you expect to make any money when you eat away all the money every time we hit the shore?"

"But Nami-"

Whatever protest Luffy was about to lodge was interrupted by the sound of the door bursting open. Nami stopped shaking Luffy and both turned to gaze at the ruined threshold. An enormous muscular man was standing in the doorway. He had to duck his head as he stepped inside.

"I am here to collect the tribute," he said gruffly. His voice was thickly accented. "You are overdue, and you will give us what we are owed now."

The waitress ran out, holding up her hands palms-out in an appeasing fashion. "Please, sir, just wait a few more minutes. When these people pay their bill, we'll have enough to pay you and more!"

"No. We have waited long enough. You will pay now or you will not pay at all."

"Please, just a few minutes-"

"Not good enough!" the huge man roared. "If you cannot pay the tribute, then you must pay the price! So speaks Baraba the Ox!" And with that, the huge man lashed out with a back-hand swipe that sent one of the piles of dishes crashing towards the ground. The waitress cried out, and covered her face as the huge pile of porcelain tumbled down towards her.

Suddenly, Luffy was there, shielding her from the falling china. Broken dishes bounced harmlessly off his rubber body. When the last plate had fallen to the ground, he turned back to the table and gave an order. "Sanji," he said simply. The cook understood immediately.

"Aye-aye, Captain," he said, rising to his feet and blowing out a lungful of smoke. "I will teach this shitty weight-lifter what it means to harm a woman in my presence." The enormous man burst into laughter.

"Is this some sort of joke? This runt doesn't look like he could swat a fly!" he said, holding his sides with mirth as Sanji walked slowly around the table until there was nothing in between them.

"Then come get me, shitty musclehead," Sanji said in a cold voice, fixing Baraba with a steely glare with his uncovered left eye.

Baraba the Ox hesitated a moment, then let out a great bellow of rage and charged. His thunderous footsteps shook the building as he closed on the blonde-haired pirate. Sanji, for his part, stood impassively, as if the large man did not exist...

Until Baraba was but two feet away, and then Sanji shifted his weight, pivoted on his left foot, spun around, and with a loud cry of "Boyeaux!" dug his right heel into the larger man's belly. The Ox doubled over with a gasp of expelled air, and Sanji wasted no time in delivering another pair of kicks in rapid succession, one to the left shoulder and another to the chin. The hulking man fell onto his back.

"Damn you, boy-" he said as he pulled himself up to one knee, but was cut off as Sanji walked forward and put out his cigarette between the large man's eyes. Baraba gave a cry of pain and clutched at the burn mark. Sanji grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him in the air.

"Now, _get out_!" Sanji yelled, releasing his grip at the same time as he delivered a crushing kick to Baraba's face. The huge man went flying backwards through the doorway, and slid to a halt in the middle of the street. "And don't come back," he said, lighting up another cigarette.

Baraba stood up, a small burn mark between his eyes. "This is not finished yet!" he roared. "I will return, and when I do I will stomp your puny store into the ground!"

"How are you planning on stomping anything with a broken leg?" Sanji asked threateningly. You could see the gears of Baraba's mind working behind his face as he tried to work that one out. Baraba's gears were old, rusty, and probably due for replacement, but when they finally spun he figured the implication out quickly enough. He ran away as quickly as he could, his heavy footsteps echoing into the distance.

Sanji stood facing the door, as though to ensure that the large man did not return, and then dashed over to the waitress' side. He took her hands in his and began gushing over her.

"Are you unharmed, Miss Waitress? He didn't hurt you, did he? If he so much as bruised your beautiful skin, I'll drag him back here and make him hurt in ways he's never even contemplated!"

"I'm fine, sir. Thank you for defending me like that. It was very brave."

She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Sanji's eyes went wide and a bright red flush spread across his face. His expression shifted to one in the throes of Nirvana. The effect was somewhat spoiled by Luffy hopping up and down behind him and asking "What about me?"

"You too," she said with a giggle, and gave him a light peck right below his scar. Luffy rubbed the spot with his right hand, inspected his hand, and then sat down mumbling that he didn't understand why Sanji got so worked up over this.

The cook, on the other hand, was less impressed by Sanji's show of power. "What on earth did you do that for? Now he's going to return with the others, and they won't stop until they've stomped this whole restaurant into the dirt!"

"Derrek..."

"I'm serious, Amina! You know how they are. They'll come down here and burn this place to the ground, and if they aren't feeling merciful, they'll kill us too!"

"You mean there's more like him?" Chopper asked, awestruck. Amina nodded.

"He's part of a group of bandits based here in town." She said. "Every few months they come through and demand tribute. Everyone's afraid of them, but nobody can stand up to them because they're so strong."

There was a silence as the Straw Hat Pirates thought that over. It was Robin who finally spoke.

"That man...he said his name was Baraba the Ox?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Am I correct in saying that there are 7 bandits in total?"

"Why...yes, you are! How did you know?" Amina asked, puzzled. Robin sighed.

"Then I'm afraid that they are not bandits.

* * *

"You were defeated?"

"I was."

"By one man?"

"I beg your forgiveness, Lord Ronas." Baraba was kneeling on the floor in the center of a dark room. Standing around him, shrouded by the darkness, were five figures. And in front of him, seated on his throne, was a sixth.

"Enough of that," the man on the throne said with a wave of his hand. "The important thing now is avenging your defeat. Was there anybody else?"

"There was one other, Lord. A short man, with a straw hat and a scar under his left eye." There was a slight stirring from the figure on the throne.

"A straw hat, you say?"

"Yes, Lord."

"Were they also travelling in the company of a green-haired swordsman?"

"I...I think there was a person by that description at the restaurant, but I cannot say if they were together."

"Oh yes, they were. Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro...The former worth one hundred million Beli, the latter worth sixty million. Quite a catch. And both of them credited with taking down some very powerful fighters, if rumour is to be beleived. Yes...I do believe that we will be able to turn your loss into our gain, Baraba."

"Then...you forgive me, Lord?" Baraba's face held pure relief.

"Yes, Baraba. I do. But you would do well to remember..."

There was a sense of movement, and suddenly the man on the throne was standing behind Baraba. Baraba buckled as though he'd just been hit from every direction at once, and fell to the ground, clutching at himself.

"...the price of failure," the man on the throne finished. He turned and looked at Baraba with disgust. "Someone pick him back up. We are going, gentlemen."

He strode forwards, towards the hidden exit, and as he did the other five figures fell in behind him. Two of them picked Baraba up off the ground and marched him along between them. The seven of them were on the move again in a way they hadn't been for years, and the very earth seemed to tremble at their walk.

* * *

+Which was, if you asked any of the crew, absolutely not Nami's fault. Obviously not. There was no way Nami could ever incorrectly read her charts, or sail into a storm that could have easily been avoided. That island just happened to be twenty miles east of where it should be, and the storm was clearly unavoidable. That's the God's truth. At least, it is while Nami is within earshot. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Your 'bandits' are nothing of the sort," Robin said. "They are, in fact, members of the Order Of Seven."

"The Order of Seven?" Chopper asked.

"A secret order of assassins," she explained. "There's always seven of them, and they pass down their titles only upon death. Most people haven't even heard of them, but each of them is a Devil Fruit-using killing machine."

"If they're so secret, how come you know all this?" asked Amina, clearly skeptical.

"Sir Crocodile did business with them while I was in his employ. That's how I recognized Barabas' name: he was a member of the party who came to negotiate with Crocodile, and he kept saying his name as though we should recognize it."

"If that's true, we might have gotten this place into a lot of trouble!" Chopper said.

"That's right..." Nami said quietly. An idea was coalescing in her head. She quickly turned to the chef and said "Hey, cook! If you forgive us this bill, we'll get rid of the bandits for you!"

Derrek appeared torn. On the one hand, he certainly wanted the bandits gone. On the other, it was such a _lot_ of money to give up.

"I'll give you half-price," he said boldly. And so the haggling began.

"So, they'll probably have some pretty strong fighters?" Luffy asked.

"Very powerful," Robin replied. Luffy chuckled.

"This is gonna be fun!"

All conversation was cut off by a the crack of a loud, commanding voice. "Straw Hat Luffy! Roronoa Zoro! I know you're in there! Come out before I knock the place down around your ears!"

Luffy turned around and looked out the window. Zoro opened his eyes and looked around.

"Who's calling for me?" he asked. Nami smacked the back of his head.

"Don't you ever pay attention?" she shouted.

Behind her, Derrek was rapidly becoming frantic. "Seventy-five percent off! But that's my final offer!"

"Done!" Nami happily proclaimed before turning back to her Captain. "Luffy! Go take care of them for us!"

"Alright!" Luffy yelled. "Let's go get'em, guys!"

"Oh, are we fighting somebody?" Zoro said, rising to he feet and placing one hand on his katana.

"I can't go outside," Usopp said, his voice shaking with fear. "My can't-leave-the-restaurant-at-all-costs disease is flaring up again."

"Oh, shut up," said Sanji, grabbing him by the nose and dragging him towards the door. All seven Straw Hat Pirates stepped through the door and stood facing their opponents.

On the other side of the street stood a short man with an unruly mop of hair. Flanking him in a row were six men, including an extremely bruised Barabas. Luffy pointed at the man in front.

"Are you the leader?"

"I am."

They stood in silence, staring at each other for a few moments until Luffy broke the silence.

"You don't look very tough."

"Nya ha ha ha!" was the sound of the short man's laughter at this statement, but his followers were less amused.

"You will address Lord Ronas with the respect he deserves!" Shouted an even shorter man on the leader's right, who gripped the hilt of his sword and looked as though he might charge forward and attack. Ronas waved him back casually, and he grudgingly stood straight once more.

"One might say the same for you, Straw Hat Luffy. You certainly don't look very intimidating. It's hard to believe that someone like you has such a large bounty."

"Yeah, it is pretty hard to believe," admitted Luffy, looking slightly embaressed.

"On the other hand, you look the part exactly, Roronoa Zoro."

"I take it you're here for our bounties?" Robin asked. Ronas' gaze shifted to her face, and he looked surprised for a moment.

"My goodness, I know that face! If it isn't Nico Robin! What an unexpected surprise to see you travelling with this group of pirates. That makes three large prizes in your little band, Straw Hat. You are going to make us wealthy indeed."

"You want a fight?" Luffy asked. "I'll kick your ass right now!"

"Why, certainly, we will fight! I notice that your crew has seven members, while my own band also has seven. What a happy coincidence."

The swordsman bowed low and spoke.

"Lord Ronas, if I may be so bold-"

"You wish to face Roronoa Zoro?"

"Yes, Lord."

"Very well. He will be your opponent. Anybody else have preferences?"

Barabas cleared his throat. "My lord, I-"

"You will face...him." Ronas declared, pointing at Usopp's cowering figure. "He's the only one of them I can depend on someone as incompetant as you to defeat."

"What are you talking about?" Luffy shouted across the space between them. "Come over here and let's fight!"

"A moment's patience, Straw Hat Luffy. First, I need to set the stage."

There was a blur of motion, and then something ran past Luffy very quickly. He looked around frantically, and saw that Ronas, Zoro, and the swordsman had all vanished.

"Zoro!" he cried out, alarmed. A blur of motion whipped past his face once more, snatching up Nami and one of the 'bandits', then speeding away once more.

"Nami!" he cried out.

"Oi, what the hell's going-"

Sanji's question was cut off as he vanished as the blur of motion went past once more.

"Sanji!"

One by one, the Straw Hat Pirates and assassins vanished, until only Luffy was left standing in front of the restaurant. Then the blur came by one more time and stabilized into Ronas' form once more.

"What the hell did you do, asshole?" Luffy shouted, distressed by the disappearance of his comrades.

"Oh, calm yourself, Straw Hat. They're all unharmed. I just took them...away. Each of them will fight one of my men. This whole island is our battlefield now!"

Luffy was having none of that. With a cry of "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" he threw his right fist forward, sending it stretching out towards Ronas' stationary form. Ronas easily stepped to the side, and the punch sailed right past him. Then he vanished once more, and a rush of air flew along the length of Luffy's arm towards his body.

Luffy suddenly began stretching in every direction at once, as though suddenly under attack from a rain of invisible blows. He gave out a short cry of pain and surprise, and coughed up blood as he tumbled forward.

"A rubber man...how dissapointing," Ronas said from behind Luffy. "Your Devil Fruit power might protect you from regular attacks, but it's worthless when you're struck by a thousand punches in the blink of an eye!"

Luffy pulled himself up to his feet slowly.

"How...did you do that?" he asked, coughing loudly as he did.

"I ate the Flash Flash fruit," Ronas said, turning to look at Luffy once more. "It gave me the power to move faster than the eye can see."

Luffy pulled his fist back once more, but Ronas didn't even let him throw the punch. Luffy crumpled again, his rubber body stretching out once more.

"How are you going to fight someone you can't even touch?" Ronas asked.

Luffy managed to haul himself back up into a sitting position again, but cried out and fell down again as Ronas zipped past him once more.

"Damn you..." he said as he lay on the ground, panting.

"Oh, do be quiet," Ronas said as he stood over him. "I'll finish you in a moment. First I have business with this restaurant."

He turned and began slowly walking towards the restaurant. Amina stood in his path, hands held out before her.

"Please," she shouted, "don't destroy it! We'll give you the money, we'll give you all the money we have!"

"It's not about the money," Ronas said with an evil grin on his face, "Not anymore."

He vanished once more, and with a _bang_ a man-sized hole appeared in the restaurant, as though someone had run through it very, very quickly. A moment later, the restaurant front exploded outwards, and another hole appeared. Ronas reappeared exactly where he had stood, walking forward at the same sedate pace.

"Please, don't do this! This restaurant means everything to us! We came to this town with nothing but a dream of running a great restaurant, and serving the sailors who come in from the sea!"

Ronas blurred once more, and another pair of holes were blown in the restaurant. What little clientele had not already fled were not running for their lives.

"We saved all the money we could, and somehow managed to gather enough to buy this place!" Derrek said, now down on his knees and begging. "Please, do anything to us, but let the restaurant stand!"

Ronas was standing over them now.

"I don't care about any of that," he said disdainfully. "If you're going to try to stand up to us, even a little, then an example must be made of you. I cannot allow any slackness or insubordination."

Then he vanished again. Hole after hole was blown in the restaurant as he ran through it again and again.

"Please, stop it!" Amina cried out, tears rolling down her face. Ronas paid her no mind, and continued to trash the restaurant.

"Stop it, please!" Derrek cried, but Ronas ignored him too.

"Knock it off, you asshole!" Luffy shouted, and Ronas was surprised to suddenly find a hand gripping his collar.

Luffy jerked his arm upwards, sending Ronas on a circular arc through the air at the end of Luffy's arm. He sailed through the air until he impacted on the other side of the street, collapsing the wall of the building opposite the restaurant. Luffy's arm snapped back to his shoulder.

"Don't you try to ruin their dream! If you wanna fight somebody, fight me!"

Ronas pulled himself to his feet, surrounded by rubble. He gave Luffy an evil grin.

"Now _that_'s more like it. This might be fun after all."

* * *

"-on?"

Sanji looked around. Suddenly, he was in a different part of town altogether. There was no sign at all of his crewmates or the Order members.

"Where am I?" he asked, looking around. He looked down and realized that his cigarette had gone out. He lit a match, and brought it up to his face to relight it.

There was the sound of a gunshot, and suddenly Sanji's cigarette was gone, carried away by a precisely-fired bullet.

"What the hell?" he asked, staring at his now-empty hand.

"My name is Varin the Longshot," a voice called out from a nearby rooftop. Sanji looked up and saw a thin man, his face completely covered by a swath of scarves, pointing an enormous rifle at him. "May I ask your name?"

"Sanji," he replied, slightly befuddled.

"I will be your opponent. Prepare yourself!"

* * *

Then he fired the rifle again.

Nami looked around, confused. One moment, she'd been standing behind Luffy, and the next she was in the middle of a forest, standing in the shadow of an enormous rock.

"What the hell happened?" she asked aloud. Suddenly a thought occured to her. _A moment's patience, Straw Hat Luffy. First, I need to set the stage._ Ronas had said those words, and then suddenly she was...here.

_Oh no!_ she thought distressedly. _He didn't match me off with one of those deadly assassins, did he?_

Nami pulled out and assembled her clima-tact. She backed up against the enormous rock. There, at least now whoever was out there couldn't come at her from behind.

"Excuse me, miss," a gravelly voice asked from jsut over her right shoulder. Nami leapt forward as though she'd been stung, then turned and brought her weapon up in a defensive position. A face had appeared in the side of the rock.

"My name is Ergon the Rock. I'm very pleased to meet you. What's yours?"

Nami was too dumbstruck to answer.

* * *

Chopper was lying on the ground, trying uncomfortably to shuffle away from the lean man who was bent over him, poking his belly inquisitively with a stick.

"Oh, really now. This is just insulting. Even _Baraba_ gets to fight a full-sized man. I'm stuck with a little racoon."

"Hey, asshole, I'm a reindeer!" Chopper shouted from the ground.

"I mean, it talks and everything, but it's still just a little raccoon," the man continued, paying Chopper no notice. "I'm really going to have to complain-"

"I just said that I'm a _reindeer_!" Chopper shouted, shifting into Heavy Point and lashing out at the tall man, who effortlessly vaulted backwards and landed with a backflip.

"Oh, that's much better. A Zoan user, eh? This should be fun. My name is Cluran the Beast, and I challenge you!"

* * *

Usopp leapt out of the way just as an enormous stone hammer crashed down on where he had been standing.

"Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi!" he shouted, running away as quickly as possible.

"Stand still, puny man!" Baraba shouted, running after him with a battlecry.

Usopp suddenly came to a halt, turning about to face his pursuer. Baraba grinned.

"So, you finally decided to face me like a man?"

"Don't come a step closer!" Usopp shouted, holding his hand out in warning. Baraba stopped short. After a moment he managed to collect his thoughts enough to ask 'why?'.

"I have eight thousand followers waiting in ambush!" Usopp declared proudly. "If you come another step, they'll beat you to a pulp!"

Baraba slowly considered that. For a moment it seemed he was going to buy it, and then...

"Eight thousand men? Bah! That is nothing! I could smash eight million men!"

Usopp was mortified. _He fell for it, but it still didn't help me!_

Usopp screamed in panic as Baraba surged forward once more, hammer held up at the ready.

* * *

Zoro looked around, confused. He was used to finding himself in unexpected places, but usually he at least had some recollection of travelling there, even if he did not remember exactly how. He was unaccustomed to suddenly finding himself someplace else.

He heard a sound off to his right, and turned his head to face it, gripping the handle of one of his blades. There was a small flash of light, and suddenly there was a sound to his left. He turned to face that. Suddenly there was a series of light flares right in front of his face. He stumbled back, covering his eyes with his left hand.

There was the ring of steel on steel, and when the light died down Zoro had his sword half-way out of its sheath, parrying a blow dealt by the swordsman who had been standing with Ronas. Zoro grinned.

"What's the big idea, blinding me like that, eh?"

The swordsman attacked again. Zoro leaned back, avoiding the first stroke, then fully drew his sword and parryied the next two. He then thrust forward, but there was another flash of light and his opponent was suddenly standing a few meters away.

"Masterful," the Swordsman said, sheathing his own blade and bowing low. "My name is Cortez the Blade. I desire honorable combat against a master such as you. Will you do me the honor?"

"If it's a fight you want," Zoro said, drawing a second sword, "I'll give you one."

"Prepare yourself," Cortez said, and then he vanished in another flash of light.

* * *

"Seis Fleurs Clutch!" Robin shouted. Six arms sprouted over her opponent's body and twisted, snapping the head back. He fell to the ground, unmoving. Robin wiped the dust off her hands. That had been almost too easy...

"Honestly, how very rude," a voice called out from behind her. She turned and the man was standing there, completely unharmed. She glanced over her shoulder to be sure, but the man she'd disabled was still lying there. SOmething odd was going on.

She crossed her arms and called out "Seis Fleur Clutch" once more, and this copy fell to the ground just like the first.

"It's not even as if I finished introducing myself."

Robin turned once more, and the man was standing there, completely unharmed. He had one hand on his wide-brimmed hat, and was holding it down over his face.

"You are Nico Robin. Famous outlaw, archaeologist, bounty of seventy-nine million beli. Quite a sum for someone who earned the price at nine years of age. Possessed, it would seem, of a rather extraordinary set of abilities. Fortunately, I am not without my own talents."

Seven more of him stepped into view from behind rocks, trees, and otherwise just out of sight. Robin suddenly found herself surrounded by eight identical men.

"My name is Sixbones the Many, and I am here to claim the bounty upon your head."


	3. Chapter 3

  
"I'm terribly sorry about this, miss! I'm sure that had we met under other circumstances, we could have been the best of friends!"

Nami didn't waste any breath responding, and she wasn't certain exactly what she would say, anyways. She was being chased down by an enormous boulder, which had suddenly sprouted arms, which it was using to push itself along the ground.

That wasn't the strangest thing about her current situation, though. In fact, by the standards of her voyages with Luffy, that was positively banal. What was strange, however, was how very _polite_ the boulder was.

"I really do wish things could have been different, miss!"

"Oh my god, shut up!" Nami shouted, assembling her Clima-Tact into the proper configuration and waving it in front of her. The tip left a heat-shimmer in the air as she called out "Mirage Tempo!"

A few seconds later, Ergon finally caught up to her fleeing form and ran it down. But as he did, she faded into thin air and he found himself rolling on, unobstructed. He rolled to a halt a dozen feet away and turned around, confused.

"Miss? Miiiiiiss? Where did you go? Please don't be angry with me! I couldn't bear it if I hurt your feelings in any way."

"I'm over here," Nami said from behind him. Ergon turned to face her, a look of elation on his face.

"Oh, there you are, Miss! You shouldn't run off like that. It's very rude."

"And you shouldn't talk so much," Nami replied. "Let me guess, the Rock Rock fruit? Something like that. Whatever you have, you shouldn't have given me the time to prepare my attack."

Ergon tilted his head inquisitively. Of course, his whole body was his head, so when he did this he nearly fell sideways. He righted himself, then followed Nami's gaze up to the thundercloud formation directly overhead.

"Thunderbolt Tempo!" Nami called out, sending a Thunder Ball from the tip of her Clima-Tact floating up to the cloud. Ergon watched in fascination as the ball of golden energy floated up to the sheet of clouds.

He had just opened his mouth-no doubt to say something else incredibly idiotic-when the Thunder Ball reached the cloudsheet, and with a crackle a massive bolt of lightning came crashing down onto the boulder-man's body.

When the flash faded, and the thunder passed, Nami uncovered her eyes to see the result. To her dismay, Ergon was still standing there. He was smoking, and some of his top layer had melted, but there was no other visible effect. He gave her an expression that seemed to sit somewhere between anger and the sad expression of a five year old whose best friend has just stolen his lollipop and smashed it on the ground.

"Fine," the enormous boulder pouted, "be that way."

Ergon leapt high into the air. Nami squinted and covered her eyes from the sun's glare, trying to make out exactly what he was doing. As Ergon came down, she could see that he was spinning rapidly.

"Gravity Thruster!" the boulder-man called out as he fell directly towards Nami. Nami turned and ran, trying desperately to not be under him when he impacted.

In this, she was successful. She was several feet away when he finally hit the ground, well out of reach. What she didn't escape, however, was the shockwave. As he hit the ground, the force of the impact knocked her off her feet, and sent the ground around his landing zone flying.

Nami landed with a grunt. She looked around, dazed, and found herself slowly sliding down a slope. She was on the side of an enormous impact crater, slowly sliding down the steep slope towards Ergon, who was waiting at the bottom.

"Oh no!" she shouted, scrambling about and trying find purchase on the ground beneath her, but she could not. The earth was too loose, and too scattered to allow her to fight gravity's pull. Inexorably she slid towards the enormous boulder-man, who was already drawing his fist back.

She cried out in pain as the enormous rocky fist collided with her cheek, sending her flying backwards over the lip of the crater. She bounced three times before finally coming to a stop. She groaned loudly as she tried to pull herself to her feet. There was blood dripping from her mouth, and it hurt even to move.

She could hear the sounds of Ergon climbing up the side of the crater. Within minutes, he would be out and then the fight would start again.She had to think of a way to get through his thick outer shell, or she didn't have a chance. She pulled herself to her feet, ignoring her protesting muscles, gripped her Clima-Tact, and prepared herself for battle.

* * *

Zoro pulled his second katana from its sheath, leaping forward. His and Cortez's blades met with a thunderous crash. Zoro disengaged the sword in his left hand, bringing it around in a deadly slash. Cortez parried, then swiftly struck out in the opposite direction. Zoro deflected the blow and brought his left hand up again, slipping past Cortez's guard.

An instant before he would have cut the assassin's flesh, there was a flash of light and Cortez vanished.

There was another flash of light to Zoro's left, and suddenly Cortez was flying at him from that direction. Zoro stopped his assault cold with a series of parries, and then attacked with both blades. Cortez vanished once more in a flash of light.

Zoro went rigid as Cortez's sword slid into him. Cortez had reappeared behind Zoro, and stuck his blade into Zoro's lower back. Zoro whirled to strike at him, but he was away before Zoro could bring his weapons to bear. He reappeared several feet away from Zoro.

"Tricky bastard," Zoro said through gritted teeth. "How do you keep jumping around like that?"

"I ate the Bamf Bamf Fruit," Cortez said, grinning. "It allows me to teleport short distances instantaneously."

"That sounds useful," Zoro said as he stood up straight once more. He drew the _Wado Ichimonji_ and gripped it between his teeth. He set a solid stance crossed his arms, and settled in low.

"Onigiri!" he called out as he dashed forward, swords flashing. Cortez vanished as he approached, momentarily blinding Zoro with a flash of light.

_Where is he going to come from this time?_ Zoro asked, glancing back and forth. He caught sight of a brilliant flare to his right, but he turned to face it too late; Cortez lashed out with a vicious kick that sent him flying.

Zoro skidded along the ground, kicking up dust, before finally slowing to a stop. He brought both swords up to catch Cortez's downward strike as the young swordsman teleported directly over him. Cortez pressed down, hoping to use his body weight to push through Zoro's defences, but Zoro brought one boot up and kicked, forcing the smaller man to teleport away.

Zoro rolled forward, avoiding the strike that had been directed at his head. He rolled to his feet, bringing his right sword back to deflect a strike at his flank. He whirled to face his foe, but Cortez was already gone. Zoro braced himself for another attack, but it didn't come.

"Amazing," Cortez said. He was standing on a rock about a dozen meters away. "You truly are a master of the blade. Perhaps the best I've ever seen. But it will do you no good. You cannot hope to defeat my special technique."

"You sure do like to talk," Zoro said with a cocky grin. "Are we going to fight, or are you just gonna stand there jawing at me?"

"Oh, don't worry, Roronoa Zoro," Cortez said, pointing his sword at Zoro's distant form, "I'll give you all the fight you could possibly want."

The air around Cortez began to shimmer, and small patches of light began flashing around his body. "Quantum Flurry!" he called out, and then he vanished.

A moment later, he reappeared, directly in front of Zoro. He struck a single blow, which Zoro easily parried, and then vanished. He materialized again on Zoro's right side, and again struck once and vanished again. Next he appeared behind Zoro, and again struck once and vanished before Zoro could bring his weapons to bear.

Around Zoro, again and again, the bright lights flared and died, and each time there was a ringing of steel on steel. The flashes accelerated until finally Zoro could not keep up. He recieved a shallow cut on his upper arm, and minor gashes all along his legs and sides. And Cortez kept speeding up. Zoro knew he somehow had to stop him soon, or the fight was already over.

* * *

"Rumble!"

Chopper bit down on the crystalline sphere, shattering it between his teeth. He could feel its effects flood over his body, allowing him to morph and shape it in different ways. He shifted into Jumping Point, leapt towards Cluran, and then changed to Arm Point. He brought both forehoofs forward in a devastating blow...which never connected. Cluran turned sideways and slid right between his muscular arms, then spun about and sent Chopper flying with a back kick.

"A morphogenic field destabilizer, eh?" Cluran said as Chopper picked himself up. "Not bad. Most Zoan users don't know how to make stuff like that. They can be pretty handy, can't they?"

Cluran's form shifted, becoming larger and hairier. There was a popping sound as the bone structure in his arms and face changed. Massive fangs jutted forth from his jaw. His ears grew large and concave.

_He's a Zoan user too!_ Chopper thought nervously. _I think that's the Bat Bat Fruit!_

"I just eat this powder," Cluran said, holding up his hand to reveal a small handful of white, chalky powder, "I get one hour of increased morphogenic flux." He tipped the pile of powder into his mouth.

_What!? He gets a whole hour? That's way better than my Rumble Ball! I need to get the formula for that stuff!_

Chopper's musings were interrupted as Cluran crouched low, and lunged forward. "Claw Form!" Cluran shouted, and his shape changed. He now looked more-or-less human, but in place of fingers he had ten long, vicious-looking claws.

"Dark Knight Talon!" Cluran called out, thrusting both hands forward. Chopper shifted once more into Jumping Point and leapt high in the air, allowing Cluran's attack to pass by underneath him.

"That won't save you!" Cluran shouted out to him, followed by a cry of "Wing Form." Cluran's shape changed once more, becoming a bat-man once more, but this time one with an enormous wingspan. He flapped his wings, taking off of the ground in a cloud of dust. He beat his wings against the air, pushing himself higher and higher, until he was at last up above Chopper, and then he threw himself into a spinning dive.

"Dark Knight Tackle!"

"Guard Point!" Chopper called out, and he was suddenly small and covered in a protective layer of fur. The fur absorbed the attack's force and sent Chopper rebounding harmlessly away. Chopper bounced twice along the ground before rolling to a stop.

Chopper shifted back into Heavy Point. He grabbed ahold of a large rock and with a grunt, pulled it out of the ground. He hefted it onto his right shoulder, sighted with his left eye, and then hurled it at Cluran's flying form.

Cluran swerved to avoid it, but couldn't quite manage it; the boulder clipped his left wing. With a squawk, he fell to the ground, lying in a crumpled heap.

Chopper shifted down into Horn Point and charged, closing the distance between them in seconds. He bent his head low, bringing his deadly antlers to bear.

Cluran leapt up from the ground, gripping Chopper's antlers and facing Chopper, suspended between the antlers. Chopper kept running forward, hoping to run the assassin against a tree, but CLuran's body began shifting again. The bat features mostly vanished, save for a some fur about the throat, the ears, and short fangs. He also retained the bat-like arm structure.

"Echo Form...Dark Knight Screech!"

Cluran inhaled deeply, then let it out in a piercing shriek. This was not simply an onslaught of sound, but also of physical force. Leaves were blown off of trees in a cone twenty feet behind Chopper. For the poor reindeer, it was like being struck between the eyes with a sledgehammer. Chopper stumbled and fell with a cry, and then was sent flying by the constant force of the scream.

Cluran kept up the pressure for a moment more, using the sound to push himself backwards through the air, towards a tree. He leapt off of it, heading back towards Chopper's prone form. As he gripped Chopper's antlers once more, he shifted into yet another form. His jaw jutted out, revealing a monstrous mouth filled with needle-sharp fangs.

"Fang Form," Cluran stated as he brought his face down towards Chopper's throat. Fortunately, at the last moment the dazed reindeer realized what was happening and changed shape again, this time down to his Brain Point size. Cluran's jaw snapped shut harmlessly on the air behind his head.

Chopper shifted up to Arm Point, twisted about, and hit Cluran in the chest with booth forehoofs, with a cry of "Kokutei Cross!"

Cluran went flying backwards and slid across the ground, two hoof-shaped indentations in his chest. With a wild grin he began pulling himself off the ground. He was hurt, but not badly.

Chopper knew his situation was dire. He was keeping up, for now-but his Rumble Ball only had another minute and a half left. And when it was gone, he didn't stand a chance.

* * *

Luffy screamed with rage as he threw his fists forward.

"Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun!"

Luffy's punches flew so quickly that there appeared to be many arms, jetting out towards Ronas, but it mattered not at all. Ronas used his speed to slip between them and race right up to Luffy's side. He hit Luffy in the face with a punch that sent him spinning...but Luffy turned that momentum to his own use and transformed that spin into a kick that caught Ronas offguard.

Ronas landed on his feet a short distance away, turned and ran back towards the pirate captain. He threw another punch, which Luffy somehow saw coming in time to jump up over it. Ronas jumped as well, intending to strike him, but an instant after his feet left the ground he realized his mistake. With no ground to run on, he was as slow and vulnerable as anyone else.

"Gomu Gomu no Spear!" Luffy shouted as both his legs shot out, catching Ronas in the ribs. Ronas flew backwards into a building and hung there, pinned by Luffy's feet, until the laws of elasticity took over and Luffy's legs retracted back to his body with a _snap_. Ronas fell to the ground, gasping and clutching his chest.

_How can he be so fast?_ Ronas asked himself as he pulled himself back to his feet. _He can't move nearly as fast as I can, but he can track my movements! Nobody alive should be able to do that!_

"You'll pay for that, you bastard..." Ronas said. He cracked his knuckles. "Infinite Mass Punch!"

And then he was gone, running in the opposite direction.

Luffy blinked.

"What? He's running away?"

Luffy and the two bystanders were left alone in the rubble-filled street, wondering what was going on.

Amina was the only one who figured it out in time.

"Look out! He's behind you!" she shouted.

"Huh? What-" Luffy's question was cut off as a fist, moving at impossible speed, struck him in the back of the head. He gave a strangled cry and fell forward. Ronas was gone down the street again before Anyone could so much as see him. The only only sign of his passing was Luffy's fallen body, and the debris thrown aside in his wake.

Luffy hauled himself back up to one knee, facing the direction that Ronas had come from last time. There was a rush of air and Luffy was struck again as Ronas ran past, even faster this time. Luffy gritted his teeth and got his other foot under him as well, refusing to give any ground even when Ronas ran past again. Luffy skidded back, but managed to keep his footing.

"For god's sakes, man, get out of there!" Derrek shouted from the restaurant's side. "He's killing you!"

"I won't!" Luffy shouted as Ronas whipped past him once more, delivering a devastating punch that set him staggering. He straightened up, gripped his upper right arm with his left hand, and stretched his arm back as far as he could.

"Gomu Gomu no..." he screamed, watching the road ahead of him. There was nothing for a few moments and then, suddenly, he saw a flickering, far too fast for anybody else to see.

"...Bullet!" he cried out as his fist impacted into Ronas' face, less than an arm-length away. The short assassin lord flew away through the wall of a building. 


	4. Chapter 4

Robin crossed her arms once more, and arms sprouted all over the bodies of the eight men surrounding her.

"Seis Fleurs-"

But before she could even complete the attack name, all eight stomped the ground hard in perfect unison. A perfect duplicate of themselves burst forth from each of their chests, breaking through her grasp with such force that Robin cried out in pain and withdrew her arms. Now there were sixteen men surrounding her.

"Your little party tricks won't do you much good against me," one of the men said. Another continued.

"I ate the Dupe Dupe fruit, and I gained the power-"

"-to absorb kinetic force, and use it to create copies of myself," a third concluded.

The sixteen men took another step forward, stomping down once more, and another sixteen copies of Sixbones the Many came into being. Another step, and there were sixty-four identical men advancing on her from all directions. On the next step, though, not all of them duplicated.

"Now, I've created my full complement," Sixbones said. "Ninety-nine copies, and of course the original. You could undoubtedly defeat one of me, but a hundred of me? I think not."

_This is bad,_ Robin thought. _I can only sprout two hundred body parts. I could probably kill a large number of them, but the others would just create more duplicates!_

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Sixbones was closing in on her from all sides, faster now, and she knew she would only get one chance at this.

"Cien Fleurs Kick!"

One hundred legs sprouted from the earth in front of her, lashing out violently at the attacking duplicates. The feet caught them in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of them and sending them toppling backwards to the ground. Robin seized the opportunity and ran, dashing through the hole in the Sixbones formation that her attack had generated.

The enemies behind her broke into to a run, closing the gap between them, and no fewer than twenty of them leapt into the air, arms outstretched, ready to grab her when their trajectory inevitably landed them on top of her.

Robin twisted,turning about and falling backwards so that she could see her airborne foes. Her arms crossed once more, and she called out:

"Veinte Fleurs Palm!"

An arm sprouted on each man's thigh, and thrust upwards with a vicious open-handed blow. It was a dirty move, but like most dirty moves it was effective. Robin was erased from each of Sixbones' aerial duplicates' minds, replaced by a sharp, overwhelming pain.

Robin hit the ground hard, skidding along her back. Her thick denim jacket protected her from the worst of it, but she still had to grit her teeth against the pain. She rolled backwards, bringing herself up to a kneeling position. She skidded a few more feet before finally slowing to a stop.

Robin turned her eyes upwards, regarding her plummeting attackers. They were no threat to her anymore, but she wasn't done with them yet. She sprouted up her maximum of two hundred arms, creating an elaborate construct on the ground below them.

"Doscientos Fleurs Catapult!"

As each of them fell, they were grabbed out of the air by ten arms, which then launched them back towards Sixbones' incoming ranks.

The human cannonballs ripped through Sixbones' small army, knocking duplicates off their feet and sending them flying. But if Robin had been counting on it slowing their advance, she would have been sadly disappointed. The fallen simply vanished, and were created anew by those few who had avoided her attack. Within a few moments, there were one hundred versions of Sixbones again.

There. Now she could see all of her enemies right in front of her. She crossed her arms, and an arm sprouted on each man's shoulder.

"Doscientos Fleurs Snap!"

The sprouted arms grabbed hold of each dupe's head, but before they could give a strong twist, snapping their hosts' necks, all one hundred versions of Sixbones reached up in unison and grabbed her arms by the wrists, preventing her from completing the action.

And that wasn't all. As soon as Sixbones' gloved hands made contact with her bare skin, a great weakness came over her whole body and she collapsed on the ground, unable to move.

"Now now, we'll be having none of that, Miss Nico," Sixbones said in many voices. "One of my gloves has a little piece of seastone affixed to the exterior. Obviously, not even a Devil Fruit ability as spectacular as my own can affect seastone, so it's only on the original glove...but just one touch is enough, isn't it?"

Without her strength to maintain them, Robin's arms withdrew, freeing her from the Seastone's influence. She began pushing herself to her feet, but it was too late for that. The nearest Sixbones reached her and struck her across the face with his left boot. Robin cried out and fell back at the impact, and suddenly Sixbones the Many was all around her. One of them gripped her hair, yanking it backwards roughly, keeping her off balance, while others rained blows all over her body. She gave out a strangled cry as she was pummeled by a hundred men at once.

And then suddenly there was something like a small explosion at the center of the mass of Sixboneses, and they went flying in every direction. Robin stood at the center, her breathing labored, her body covered on all sides by the arms and legs she had just generated to free herself from the crushing mass of copied assassins.

_Between his multiplication abilities and that seastone glove, my normal tactics are useless against him,_ Robin thought frantically as Sixbones' multiple bodies pulled themselves to their feet. _I need to think of some way around them, and fast, or I'm going to lose this fight._

* * *

Baraba's hammer struck the ground hard. Unbelievably hard. So hard, in fact, that the ground beneath Usopp's feet exploded upwards, sending him flying.

"Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee!" Usopp screamed as he plummeted down to earth. He impacted roughly, churning up a cloud of dust. Usopp sat up creakily, chanting 'ow ow ow' as he moved his bruised body. Baraba laughed heartily.

"Got you that time, fast little man! I told you I'd catch you!"

"Holy shit, how strong are you?" Usopp asked as he panted on the ground.

"I ate the Rho Rho fruit. My whole body is...uh..."

Baraba's face lost its fierce appearance, and adopted one of intense puzzlement. He stroked his chin and began hemming and hawing, as if he was trying to remember something.

"Er..."

"No, don't tell me, I know this," Baraba said, holding out a hand to cut Usopp off.

"But-"

"Hush, I said! Er...my whole body...um...is incredibly...compressed? No, that isn't right..."

"If I could just-"

"Ah-ha!" Baraba shouted as a look of triumph came over his face. His eyes, shut in concentration, opened wide. "My whole body is soo-per-nat-choo-rally dense, including my muscle tissue!"

He sounded like he was reciting from a text book. He also looked so earnest, and incredibly pleased with himself that Usopp actually hesitated for a moment before wiping the expression off his face.

But only for a moment.

"Tabasco Star!"

Usopp fired a tiny capsule in Baraba's open mouth. Baraba bit down on it without thinking. For a moment, nothing happened, and then Baraba's eyes crossed, and he began to sweat profusely. He fell to his knees, clutching at his throat and screaming in agony.

"Just like I thought!" Usopp shouted triumphantly. "If your whole body is super-dense, then so are your taste and pain receptors!"

"Why you...little runt!" Baraba shouted angrily, staring at Usopp with bloodshot eyes.

"Double Pepper Star!" Usopp shouted, loading the projectile into his slingshot. Two packets impacted Baraba right in the eyes, and exploded into a cloud of pepper.

"Shit! Shit shit shit shit! That stings!"

Baraba began stomping around, clutching at his eyes and sneezing. When he finally got a firm enough hold on himself, he opened his eyes, but Usopp was nowhere to be found.

"Hmm? Where has that coward run to now?" Baraba wondered aloud. He turned about, searching frantically for his diminutive opponent. He failed completely to notice that Usopp was standing directly behind him, matching his every move.

_This is perfect,_ Usopp thought to himself. _This guy is huge, and he's stupid, so I should be able to keep behind him until someone arrives to help me!_

Baraba began walking forward, searching, and Usopp followed behind him, matching his footsteps as much as possible. Baraba's footsteps were so heavy that they easily masked Usopp's near-silent ones.

_I can just stand behind him like this until Luffy shows up...or Zoro...or Sanji. They'll be able to take care of this guy, no problem. Yeah, that's what I'll do._

He felt a tendril of guilt creep through his gut, but he mentally crossed his arms and glared at himself disapprovingly.

_Oh no you don't!_ he admonished. _Not this time! I'm already in enough trouble!_

And here I thought you wanted to be a brave warrior of the sea, part of him replied.

_I do! But not so much brave, and not right now._

Chicken.

_Guilty as charged,_ he responded.

What would Luffy do?

_That's completely different. Luffy is freakishly strong, I'm just a normal guy! This guy's powers have me completely outmatched._

Do you think that would stop Luffy? the rebellious part of his mind asked.

Usopp started responding to that, but then stopped. No, it wouldn't stop Luffy. Nothing ever stopped Luffy. Even after seeing the power that villains like Arlong or Crocodile wielded, he always got back up and fought them with all of his strength. Even if he had a weak body like Usopp, he'd have done the same thing.

And so, silently cursing himself, Usopp drew his slingshot again and loaded it.

_Alright, you win, but this is the last time,_ he said to himself.

Whatever you say, Great Captain Usopp, the voice in the back of his mind said before vanishing. Usopp got the impression that it was grinning.

With trembling hands, Usopp raised his slingshot to eye level, pulled back the strap, and let fly.

"Sure-Kill Lead Star!"

The dense ball of metal struck Baraba in the back of the head with a _clong_ sound. Baraba turned around slowly. The hard lead ball hadn't even dented the super-dense bone that made up his skull.

Baraba reached down and lifted Usopp with one enormous hand. Terror seized Usopp as he was hoisted up to Baraba's eye level and another hand raised in front of him.

_Alright, so now I'm a brave warrior of the seas,_ he thought. _I'm going to die, but at least I'm a brave warrior of the sea!_

Somehow, that wasn't very comforting.

Baraba flicked him with one finger, right between the eyes. Despite the blow being so tiny, it was powerful enough to send Usopp flying, skidding, and then finally crashing into a rock. Blood was dripping from his forehead, and there was some of it in his mouth, too. Usopp groaned and opened his eyes, just in time to see Baraba charging him, each footstep shaking the earth below them.

* * *

Sanji ran from building to building, barely one step ahead of his opponent.

Bullets whizzed through the air around him as they penetrated through wall to his left, speeding through the room before exiting through the wall on his right. He leapt over tables, chairs, and people, apologizing as he did so.

_How is that shitty sniper tracking me like this?_ he wondered as he ducked under another bullet. _I've got a wall between us, but he always seems to know where I am!_

An ugly thought occured to him. Robin had said that all seven of the assassins were devil fruit users. What if this guy-

"In the interests of fairness," Varin shouted down as he reloaded, "I should tell you that I ate the Lock Lock fruit, and gained the ability to track you by your body heat."

Sanji grimaced. It really didn't matter, then, how much cover he found. That guy's rifle was absurdly powerful, and he could track Sanji wherever he went. The only thing for it was to keep moving.

Sanji dived forward, evading another pair of bullets, and then there was a brief lull as Varin reloaded his weapon. Something in the building ahead caught Sanji's eye: An enormous metal statue of an elephant.

He ran into the room, where a shocked and somewhat alarmed man looked up from his morning paper at the sudden intruder.

"That statue..." Sanji panted. "Is it solid metal?"

"Y-yes," the man stammered, still trying to come to grips with this sudden intrusion.

"Good," Sanji said, sitting down underneath it.

There. Even a rifle as powerful as that one couldn't penetrate that much solid metal. Varin the Longshot could aim at him all he liked, but Sanji had just bought himself some time to catch his breath-

A bullet tore through the wall, through the statue, and then through his back. Sanji gasped, and grabbed at the wound.

_Shit...that's one hell of a rifle!_

"I suppose, in the interests of fairness, I should have also mentioned that this rifle can penetrate six feet of solid steel," Varin shouted. "Unfortunately, I guess I just don't believe in being quite that fair."

Sanji stood up, grimacing at the pain. He pulled out a fresh cigarette, and lit it.

"Right," he said, blowing out a lungful of smoke. "I think I've had about enough of this shit. Old man, I'm borrowing your table."

"Uh, wait!" the man said, but Sanji ignored him, and kicked the table out the door, and into the street. He followed it out, leaving behind a rather befuddled man who was suddenly short a piece of furniture and up one bullet hole.

Sanji brought his heel down on the middle of the table in a devastating axe kick, splitting it in half. He used a roundhouse kick to send one half flying towards where Varin was lurking, and then spun about and used a back kick to send the other one after it.

Varin fired twice, and the table halves shattered, sending splinters of wood flying through the air towards him. Varin decided that taking cover was preferable to getting hit with shrapnel, and ducked low, allowing the broken tables to sail safely over his head.

The Longshot poked his head over the roof once more, and saw that Sanji had taken advantage of the diversion to make a dash aross the street, towards the building that Varin was crouched atop of. _Idiot,_ he thought. Varin raise the rifle up to his shoulder and fired.

Sanji stumbled as the shot ripped through his shoulder, but kept running, kicking the doors open and making for the nearest staircase. Shots rained down from the ceiling, sending the house's inhabitants screaming and running for cover, but Sanji ignored them as he climbed steadily upwards. When he reached the roof access door, he took a flying kick at it that send it flying off its hinges and out into the street.

Varin stood not six feet away. Sanji grinned at him between panting breaths.

"Got you now, you shitty sniper. Nowhere for you to run."

"Hate to break it to you, but I have plenty of places to run," Varin said, pulling out a small hand-held device. "You just can't follow me to them."

He raised the small device and pointed at a rooftop across the sreet. There was a _bang_, and then a cable shot out of the device's end. It wrapped around a decorative outcropping, and then suddenly Varin was sailing through the air, pulled along by a powerful motor in his towline device.

Sanji's jaw dropped. He hadn't been counting on this, but he could see where it was going. he would keep running from house to house, getting riddled with holes all the while, and Varin would just keep sailing from rooftop to rooftop, safely out of reach.

There was a _crack_ as Varin fired again, and then Sanji was running again, trying to avoid getting shot.

* * *

Ronas pulled himself to his feet, rubble cascading off of his body and falling to the ground. He brushed dust off of his shoulders, and then wiped a thin line of blood off of his chin. Then he threw back his head and laughed.

"Nya ha ha ha! A good hit, Straw Hat Luffy, but ultimately futile. You see, there is something that I neglected to tell you."

Luffy stood several meters away, still partially obscured by the clouds of dust that Ronas' impact had kicked up. He reached back and set his trademark hat back firmly on his head.

"Being the leader of the Order of Seven has benefits," Ronas said. "And one of them is that my Devil Fruit ability has been mystically enhanced. As long as I'm running, I'm completely immune to any harm. You can hit me as much as you like, but you can't hurt me."

"It doesn't matter," Luffy said, cracking his knuckles and lowering his body and bringing his arms up into a fighting stance. "I'm still going to kick your ass."

"Now, that's a good fighting spirit," Ronas said. And then he vanished.

Luffy's fist lashed out, connecting just below his ear. The force of the blow sent Ronas flying backwards and upwards until he collided with the corner of a building, knocking it clean off. Indeed, just he had said, his face was unmarked from Luffy's punch.

"Gomu Gomu no Stamp!"

Ronas pushed off of the wall, leaping out into midair and allowing Luffy's sandal to harmlessly impact against the wall. Unfortunately, doing so placed him in a vulnerable position, which Luffy was quick to take advantage of. He ran forward, stretching his arms out behind him.

"Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!"

Ronas twisted his body in midair, slipping right between both of Luffy's outstretched palms. Both of his hands shot out, and grabbed Lluffy by the wrists as his feet made contact with the ground. Luffy's eyes widened as he skidded back several feet, leaving twin trenches in the street.

Ronas grinned.

Luffy gave a shout as he was jerked off his feet. Ronas whipped him about by his elongated arms, sending him flying into a building. The building's stone wall crumbled beneath him, and Luffy tumbled to the floor.

"You have a lot of potential," Ronas said. "Under the right circumstances, you could have become a great warrior. It's a shame that you squandered it on foolish dreams of freedom and treasure."

Luffy stood up, ignoring all the dust falling off of his body. He stepped forward, out of the shadows. Ronas continued speaking, ignoring him.

"Our training regimen is very strict. Up at dawn every day, and then every day the same routine. Non-stop training. That is our way of life, and it's what gives us the strength to pursue the only two things that really matter: Money, and the glory that comes from honorable combat."

"You're wrong," Luffy said as his sandaled feet struck against the dusty road.

"Oh? And what exactly am I wrong about?"

"What you just said. There's stuff way more important than that. Nami loves money, and Zoro loves a good fight, but they've got something else that keeps them moving forward. That's what makes them strong. You guys don't have anything like that, so there's no way you can beat us."

"And you think that this will allow you to beat us?"

Luffy glared at the assassin lord from under the brim of his hat.

"I _know_ it will."

Ronas snickered. "How about a wager, then, if you're so sure of yourself. If me and my men defeat your crew, we won't hand you over to World Government like we planned. Instead, you'll join us here, and live out the remainder of your days as we do: a life of training and solitude."

"Fine! And when we kick your asses, you have to go and become pirates!"

"Agreed," Ronas said with a wicked grin. "We'll soon see whose way of life is stronger!"

"I already know!" Luffy shouted, dashing forward. "Gomu Gomu no..."

Ronas cocked his right fist over his shoulder. "Speed Force..."

And then, with simultaneous shouts of "Pistol!" and "Hook!" both combatants threw a devastating punch with their right arm, catching the other in the face. Luffy's rubber face flattened as Ronas' super-fast fist plowed into it. Ronas, who had taken the punch standing still, grunted with pain as Luffy's fist impacted his unprotected cheekbone.

Ronas went flying backwards, sailing in a slow-moving arc that would have made him an easy target had Luffy been in any shape to take advantage of it. The rubberman's face was bouncing in and out as it snapped back from the blow.

Ronas hit the ground roughly. He brought up to inspect his head where Luffy had struck him, and it came away bloody. He stared at it for a moment, his eyes narrowing and his teeth gritting. Then he dashed forward, grabbed the still-dazed Luffy by the wrist, and dragged him away.

"I've played around with you for long enough," he said, blood flowing down his face. The landscape around them beame a blur as he ran circles around the island, picking up speed.

"Let me go, you asshole!" Luffy shouted, but Ronas ignored him. The force was stretching him out, leaving a long trail behind them. They were going so fast that Luffy literally could not see anything around them.

"Gladly!" Ronas said, and suddenly Luffy was flying through the air. Ronas was standing on a cliff behind him, and the only thing beneath him was...

"I used my speed to launch you over the ocean," Ronas shouted as Luffy fell. "Even if you survive the fall, you won't be able to swim because of your Devil Fruit abilities. This fight is already over!" 


	5. Chapter 5

"Jumping Point!"

Chopper leaped to one side as Cluran came down, ten vicious claws impaling the ground beneath where the humanoid reindeer had stood.

Chopper landed against the trunk of a tree, and pushed off, leaping from one tree to the next. Cluran took flight in Wing Form, beating his leathery wings furiously as he gave chase. Chopper continued racing forward, using his powerful legs to move from tree to tree, one step ahead of the flying Bat-Man.

As Chopper was about to leap forward towards a tree in front of him, some instinct warned him of imminent danger, and he twisted sideways, heading instead for a tree beyond that. This turned out to be a very good thing, as a cone of focused sound ripped across his intended trajectory.

Chopper glanced to his left, and barely managed to leap out of the way to avoid another sonic attack. Cluran was following in Wing Form, true, but he was shifting to Echo Form at the peak of his flight in order to send a blast of sound out after Chopper, and then shifting back to Wing Point before he impacted with the ground.

_I don't have time to run like this,_ Chopper thought as he ducked under a third shot. _I need to take the offensive if I'm going to take him out before my Rumble Ball runs out._ He increased speed, sprinting forward to to put some distance between them, and then stopped and turned to face Cluran, crouching low to the ground.

Cluran's wings carried him closer to where Chopper lay in wait, and the reindeer's powerful legs unwound beneath him, rocketing him forward with blinding speed. Cluran shifted to Echo Form again, opened his mouth and emitted an ear-popping shriek. The sound coalesced into a rippling cone, headed for Chopper at just under the speed of sound.

"Guard Point!" Chopper shouted. His limbs shrunk into his body, and a thick layer of fur sprung up from his torso, insulating him. The sound waves rolled right off its surface, and succeeded only in slowing him down somewhat.

Chopper struck Cluran right in the gut, with all the force of a small furry cannonball. The bat-man gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, and the sonic attack faded. Chopper shifted up to Heavy Point, and clapped a hand over Cluran's mouth, preventing him from attacking again. With the other hand, he struck his opponent in the belly, causing him to grunt in pain.

Suddenly, Chopper felt a crippling pain in the hand he was using to keep Cluran silent. He looked down at it, and saw that Cluran had shifted into Fang Form, and then bitten down hard, piercing Chopper's hands with long, sharp teeth.

Chopper shouted out in pain and jerked his hand away violently. Cluran shifted back into Echo Form, and unleashed another sonic scream. Chopper flew backwards, screaming in pain.

Both of them landed roughly on the ground, kicking up huge clouds of dust. Chopper coughed as he sat up. He only had about thirty seconds of Rumble time left. He needed to figure out a way to take Cluran down, and he needed to figure it out quickly.

"Brain Point," he said as he pulled himself to his feet. He reverted down to his usual diminutive size. He held both hooves out in front of him, forming a diamond shape. "Scope!" he called out, and his pupils began to swirl in his eyes.

Cluran brushed dust off of his jacket. He glanced around, scanning at ground level for his opponent. This was turning out to be a good deal more fun than he was expecting, but unfortunately all good things must come to an end. It was time for him to deliver the finishing blow. He caught sight of the tiny thing, and rolled his eyes.

"Oh for goodness' sake," he said disdainfully. "You could at least let me enjoy the ending of our little skirmish."

Chopper ignored him, staring resolutely at him through the tiny window created by his hooves. Numbers and shapes danced in front of his eyes as his brain analyzed and processed Cluran's body, trying to find a weakness Chopper could exploit.

Cluran took flight once more, his body lengthening into Wing Form. He flew high above Chopper, and then dived swiftly, heading for Chopper's unmoving form. He set himself into a spin, and when he was spinning so quickly that all detail had vanished into a blur of motion, he shifted into Claw Form. The blur of wings and fur transformed into a cyclone of points and sharp edges.

Panic seized the young doctor as Cluran bore down on him. His brain was processing information at great speed, but he could feel the Rumble Ball's effects wearing off already. He needed the solution, and he needed it-

_There_. In the moment before Cluran reached him, as the Rumble Ball's effects faded completely, Chopper saw the answer. It was so obvious, he was amazed he hadn't seen it before.

Shouting "Dark Knight Dervish!", Cluran slammed into Chopper's vulnerable form. The force pushed the tiny reindeer backwards, the claws drilling into his flesh and drawing blood. Chopper screamed as the claws tore up his chest and send him flying backwards. He skipped across the ground and collided with a tree with a horrible _crack_.

Cluran reverted to human form, brushing the dirt off his hands. He stuck his hands in his pockets, and turned to walk away.

"It was fun while it lasted," he lamented.

He reached the edge of the clearing before he heard the rustling sound behind him.

He turned to face it, and saw Chopper pushing himself unsteadily to his feet, leaning on the tree for support. He coughed violently, and a gob of red fluid fell out of his mouth, landing on the ground.

"Well," Cluran said with a grin, "someone certainly can't tell when a fight's over."

"No," Chopper replied. "It's over. And I've won."

Cluran laughed out loud. "You've won? That's funny, things look different from my perspective. You're tottering over there, barely alive, and I'm right here, relatively unscathed. You look like you couldn't walk, much less fight me."

"Doesn't matter," Chopper said, his eyes narrowing. "I know how to beat you. You've got no chance."

Cluran chuckled as he shifted into Beast Form. "Come on then," he said with a wicked grin, "Let's finish it."

"Running Point!" Chopper shouted, slipping into full reindeer form. He ran forward at full speed, hooves clattering against the ground. Cluran ran forward to meet him. As they came together, Cluran lashed out with one clawed hand, but Chopper had already leaped high over it, leaped over Cluran altogether...

The bat-man wheeled about to attack again, but Chopper was nowhere in sight. Puzzled, Cluran looked back and forth, trying to figure out whee his opponent had gone, but could find no trace of him.

Then he realized that there was something small clinging to his back.

"This is your weakness," Chopper said as he gripped the fur on Cluran's back desperately, "No matter what form you're in, your bone structure won't let you reach me here!"

Cluran thrashed about, hands reaching behind him, trying to dislodge his unwanted passenger, but no matter how he tried Chopper remained just out of reach.

"Get off of me, you little rodent!" he shouted as he twisted and turned. Chopper ignored him and focused on the anatomy textbooks that Doctorine had made him spend so many long hours memorizing. _Ninth Vertebrae, Tenth, Eleventh...there!_ There was a small nerve cluster just below the eleventh vertebrae. Focusing his mind's eye on its position, he took a deep breath, drew his head backwards, and then head-butted Cluran hard on that exact spot.

Cluran let out a startled gasp as his lower body buckled beneath him, suddenly numb and unresponsive. As he fell to the ground, Chopper shifted to Heavy Point, bearing him to the dirt and pinning him down.

"Well played," Cluran said as he tried vainly to move his legs. "You were right. You win."

Chopper reached forward, gripped Cluran's hair, and slammed his face into the ground until unconsciousness finally claimed him.

* * *

Ergon reached over the lip of the crater, gripped the ground and pulled himself up until he could peer back onto the clearing. The orange-haired woman was lying on the ground a few feet away. From this angle, he could almost see up her skirt; Ergon blushed at the thought. That was an inappropriate thing for him to be thinking of, especially on such a nice young woman. It was truly a pity he had to kill her. 

"My sincerest apologies," he said as he pulled himself completely over the edge of the crater and began rolling forward. The girl moaned and tried to pull herself to her feet, but Ergon was far too quick for her. He was on top of her before she could react, kicking up dirt and grass as he bore down on her.

But again he was cheated, as the figure vanished as soon as he came into contact with it. He stopped his charge, and turned to face his surroundings.

He was suddenly surrounded by a score of Namis, each of them in a different position or pose, scattered through the clearing. He blinked in confusion. There was only supposed to be one of her!

"It took you a while to get out of that pit,"the Namis said at once, grinning. "I had all the time I needed to get this set up."

Each of the illusory women pulled out a section of the Clima-Tact and began to spin it. Blue balls of cooled air popped out of the end with each rotation, floating upwards.

"Only one of us is real," Nami said with a wicked grin. "Find me if you can."

Ergon looked back and forth, trying to decide what to do next. For a moment his brow furrowed as he tried to puzzle out which one to attack. After a moment, he extended one stubby finger to point at the nearest Nami.

"Eenie," he began, pointing at each one in sequence. "Meenie. Miney. Moe."

No sooner had he completed the child's rhyme before he rocketed forward, bearing down on the one of the orange-haired women. She wavered in the air and vanished as he approached, and he leaned sharply to the left, performing a quick U-turn to run over another Nami, which also disappeared as he struck it.

"Good guess, but no," the chorus of Namis stated mockingly.

"Ooh, almost had me that time," she taunted as Ergon rolled over another illusion, which was leaning against a tree. The trunk split where he grazed it, and it toppled to the earth with a _crack_. Ergon ignored it and wheeled to run down the next Nami in line.

Around and around the field the Rock-man rolled, leaving deep treads in his wake. He rolled over illusion after illusion, making them fade and vanish, with the remaining ones taunting him every time he chose the wrong one.

But the trick could not last, and each illusion he destroyed made her more vulnerable. She seemed almost oblivious to the danger, standing still and continuing to spin her stupid stick, sending more and of the small blue balls into the air.

Nami dove to the side as Ergon finally guessed correctly. She almost managed to dodge, but his rocky hand closed around her ankle, and she was dragged along behind him, whirling around with each revolution of his hulking body.

Ergon rolled to a stop, and then held Nami in front of him, dangling her by her ankle. He frowned deeply.

"I want you to know that there's nothing personal about this," he said sternly, "but your behavior thus far has been downright unladylike."

Nami was so surprised by this final display of _politesse_ that she almost forgot to scream when Ergon cocked his arm back and threw her across the clearing.

The living boulder braced its legs against the ground, and then leaped forward with incredible speed, placing him in the air above Nami. He spun like a drill as he fell towards her.

"Gravity Rocket!" he shouted as he approached her helpless form.

Nami grinned triumphantly. _Finally,_ she thought as her hands assembled the Clima-Tact into the proper shape, _I've been waiting ages for him to do this._ She pointed one end of her staff between her legs, down at the ground, and gripped the handle she had formed with another section of the staff. She spun the handle quickly, and a blast of wind shot from the other end of Clima-Tact.

"Gale Tempo!" Nami called out as the force of the wind pushed her upwards and backwards, taking her out of Ergon's path. The rock-man hit the ground hard, sending up a cloud of dust and digging a deep impact crater, exactly as it had before. Nami flew through the cloud, arms shielding her eyes, and finally came to rest at the edge of the crater.

She propped herself up off of the ground and detached one section of the Clima-Tact, pointing it into the air above the crater. There was an enormous black cloud lurking there, the product of her earlier handiwork.

"Thunder Ball," she shouted as her rod discharged a yellow burst of statically charged air. It floated up to the black cloud and crackled along the surface, and snowflakes began to fall. "Freezing Rain Tempo," Nami finished with a triumphant tone.

The snow fell down from the cloud, and then melted in an area of warm air, becoming raindrops. They then fell through an area of cold air, which supercooled them. Then they fell, elongating as they did, until they struck the earth and froze again into ice.

Ergon tried to grip the side of the crater, tried to climb out, but his fingers could find no purchase on the suddenly icy surface. He slid down the slope over and over, and as the rain continued a layer of ice built up on his body, weighing him down.

His movements became slower and slower until finally he stopped moving altogether and simply allowed the ice to build up on top of him. Nami chuckled and put her weapon away.

"That ice won't melt for a couple of hours," she said as she knelt at the edge of the crater. "By that time, I should be able to get Zoro or Sanji or someone down here to beat you up."

She stood up and walked away, whistling a cheerful tune.

* * *

Zoro winced as Cortez slashed him across the right bicep. His three swords were flashing through the air, intercepting blow after blow, but Cortez's attack was just too fast, and it came from all directions at once. He needed breathing room if he was going to survive this. 

Zoro took a deep breath, centering himself mentally and blocking out the pain. He flicked his blades outwards, lowered his stance and twisted.

"Dragon Coil!" he shouted as he cut the air itself, sending a wave of destruction outwards in a circle. Suddenly, there was no safe place around him on which to stand, forcing Cortez to disengage his attack and teleport to safety.

As the attack faded, Cortez teleported towards Zoro, bringing his sword down in a vicious chop, but the green-haired swordsman had predicted the attack. Zoro's left blade caught the blow and twisted it, leading it along the katana's edge until it caught against the guard. He brought the other sword around, down on top of the blade, and it flew out of Cortez's grip, landing in the dirt at Zoro's feet.

Cortez danced back out of his reach. Zoro pushed forward, slashing horizontally at the smaller man's neck. Cortez leaned backwards, allowing the tip of the blade to pass within inches of his flesh. Zoro attacked with his other sword, but Cortez grabbed him behind the wrist and pushed the sword aside before sinking a fist into his gut, doubling him over.

Cortez struck another pair of blows quickly, one to the chest and another to the face, sending Zoro reeling. He swept low, grabbing his sword where it lay in the dirt, and then teleported behind Zoro once more. The green-haired swordsman barely managed to dodge forward, avoiding another deadly cut to the abdomen.

Zoro turned to face his opponent, swords held in a guarded position. Much to his surprise, Cortez did not resume his attack, but instead stood in a similar defensive posture, watching Zoro for his next move.

"Incredible," Cortez said after a few moments of staring at each other. "Nobody but Lord Ronas has ever broken that technique before. I had thought it almost unbeatable."

Zoro snorted derisively. "Apparently not," he said.

"True...you know, it will almost be a shame to kill you," Cortez responded. "I'm clearly robbing the world of an extraordinary specimen. But," he continued sadly, "orders are orders, after all.

"You still think you can beat me?" Zoro said, a laugh creeping its way around the edges of his voice. "Come on, then. Let's do this."

Zoro shifted stances, bringing his three blades up into the correct alignment. Then he swept them forward, feeling once more for the very edge of the air that surrounded him. He found it and cut it.

"One hundred and eight pound cannon!" he shouted as a powerful blast of compressed air flew from his swords, spiraling through the air towards Cortez. There was a flare of light as if passed over him, and the shorter swordsman was gone.

Zoro looked around, trying to guess where the teleporter had gone now. There was no sign on him in any direction. Could he have retreated? Not likely, given his cocky speech a moment ago. So where...

Zoro didn't think to look up until it was nearly too late.

Cortez had teleported directly above him-several miles above him, if the speed of his fall was any indication-and was now plummeting towards him, sword held with the point facing downwards. Zoro dodged to the side, allowing Cortez to pass through the space he had occupied but a moment before. He struck out at him as he fell, but predictably enough Cortez teleported away, again directly over Zoro's head.

"Quantum Leap!" he shouted as he came down again. He was closer this time, and Zoro had to move quickly to deflect the blade before it could do him any harm. Cortez teleported again, directly up an even shorter distance.

Again and again he came down, coming closer each time. He was at terminal velocity now, and with each teleport Zoro had to move just a little faster to parry or dodge the attack, until he finally decided that he'd had enough. He set his feet firmly against the ground, and blocked the attack with all three blades. A ring of blades formed around Cortez's, holding it in place.

For a moment the air between them seemed to waver as Zoro's raw physical power met Cortez's downward momentum, each fighting to break past the other's guard.

In the end, Cortez won. His blade found a gap between Zoro's swords, and as it pushed down it forced them apart, allowing it access to Zoro's now undefended body.

Zoro screamed in pain as the sword raked across his chest, giving him a long, deep cut down the middle of his ribcage. Blood poured out from the wound, and he fell down to one knee, clutching at it. Cortez teleported several meters away, landing on the ground with a heavy _thud_. The ground cracked all around his feet, but his powerful legs absorbed most of the impact.

Zoro knelt on one knee, trying to catch his breath. The wound was deep. Possibly it would even scar. He briefly thought of the scar he'd gotten at the hands of Hawk-Eye Mihawk, and couldn't help laughing loudly.

"Is something humorous?" Cortez asked, looking down at his opponent, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"You are," Zoro said, rising to his feet, "amateur."

Cortez's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you just call me?" he asked, his voice suddenly icy and dangerous.

"Amateur," Zoro repeated idly. "You have some skill with the blade, true, and your devil fruit ability caught me off guard. But that can't disguise the fact that you're a rookie. And like every rookie swordsman," he continued, pulling the bandanna off of his arm, "you make two major mistakes."

"The first," Zoro said, as he tied the bandanna around his forehead, "is underestimating your opponent. And the second..."

There was a flare of light, and Cortez was gone, teleported behind Zoro again for an attack. But before he could bring his sword crashing down on his opponent, he felt a sharp pain in his gut. He looked down, and saw one of Zoro's katanas, the one he held in his mouth, sticking into his belly. Zoro had predicted where he would teleport, and struck there.

"...you fall into patterns," Zoro concluded as Cortez fell to the ground, a bloody wound marring his white suit. He pulled himself painfully up to a sitting position, his breathing heavy. Zoro shifted positions again, bringing his blades up into an attack posture, and for the first time since the fight began really assumed the offensive.

The fight was already over at this point. Cortez just wasn't willing to admit to it yet.

* * *

Luffy flew through the air, the ocean spreading out below him. If he fell into the water, there would be no hope for him. He would lose all strength in his body, and sink to the ocean's floor, drowning. He would lose. 

And he couldn't allow that. His nakama were depending on him to win, and more than that: If he lost here, even if he didn't die, he'd lose all chance of ever fulfilling his promise to Shanks. He would never get to be the Pirate King.

And so he threw out his arms and stretched. It was a very, very long way to the shore. Ronas had put a lot of momentum behind the throw, and he was still going at a good speed. But he stretched out, reaching as far as he'd ever reached before and further, until his fingertips made contact with the base of the cliff he'd just been thrown from.

Before Ronas could do anything but start in surprise at his return, Luffy yanked, hard, sending himself flying back towards the island. His arms began retracting, speeding him still further.

With a cry of "Gomu Gomu no Missile!", Luffy crashed head-first into the cliff. The impact sent cracks through the stone before finally bursting it apart in a small explosion. Ronas tried to keep his footing, but it was impossible. The force of Luffy's attack sent him falling through the air.

A fist shot through the rubble, connecting solidly with his chest. He let out a lungful of air as the impact knocked the wind out of him. A second fist flew forward and hit him in the face, crushing his nose and sending him flying backwards.

Ronas landed roughly, skidding along the ground, and then regained his feet and ran back to where Luffy was currently landing. He struck Luffy with an open-handed blow, enhanced by his speed, which snapped the rubberman's neck back and caused him to let out a sharp cry. Ronas lashed out with a flurry of punches, traveling faster than the eye can see, pummeling Luffy's body and leaving fist-shaped imprints all over his body.

His next punch stopped suddenly, and his fist refused to move forward no matter how he pushed. He glanced down and saw that Luffy had somehow, impossibly, caught it. He gripped it tightly in his hand, gritting his teeth and kicked out, catching Ronas in the gut. He released Ronas' hand, allowing the assassin lord to be sent flying by the force of his blow.

Luffy ran forward, his sandals clapping on the ground, following the course that Ronas' hapless form had taken. Ronas, having regained his footing, ran at full speed towards him. Both men's fists came around, and they struck each other with enough force to shatter mountains.


End file.
